Ink ribbon guide for business machines



Dec. 5, 1939. w. A. ANDERSON INK RIBBON GUIDE FOR BUSINESS MACHINES Filed Dec. 51, 195

, INVENTOR WALTER A. ANDERSON ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 5, 1939 INK RIBBON GUIDE FOR BUSINESS MACHINES Walter A. Anderson, Bridgepor Conn., assignor to Underwood Elliott Fisher Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 31, 1937, Serial No. 182,879

lClaim.

This invention relates to mechanism for guiding the customary ink ribbon from one spool to another on business machines. It has particular reference to guiding the portion of the 6 ribbon that lies close to the printing platen on machines in which paper is fed into the machine from in front of the platen.

In machines of this character it is necessary to keep the ink ribbon and its guides normally some distance away from the platen so that when the operator inserts paper into the machine from in front of the platen, the leading edge of the paper does not encounter the ribbon and smear or buckle the paper.

The present invention, therefore, has as its primary object the provision of a means to hold and guide the ribbon properly in relation to the type bars, while at the same time not interfering with insertion of the paper.

With this and incidental objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, the essential elements of which are set forth in appended claim, and a preferred embodiment of which is hereinafter described with reference to the drawing which accompanies and forms part of the specification.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a perspective view of the ribbon guide, showing its location on a business machine,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of one of the parts of the guide, and

Figure 3 is a plan view showing the ribbon spools, ribbon and guide.

An ink ribbon I (Figure 1) is wound on conventional ribbon spools 2 and passes around posts 3, 4, 5 and 6 going from one spool to the other. As it passes from post 4 to post 5, or vice versa, it lies between type bars I and the platen 8 that supports the paper to be printed upon. The portion of the ribbon that lies in front of the type bars is by necessity quite close to the platen, so that there is danger of this portion of the ribbon catching the leading edge of the paper as it is inserted downwardly from in front of the platen. To overcome this, two standards II and I2 are provided with projections l3 and I4 overhanging the ribbon. The upper ends of standards II and I2 are beveled at l5 and i6. These beveled surfaces, together with the overhanging projections, serve to deflect the paper, as it is inserted, away from the ribbon and toward the platen. A pair of brackets l1 and I8 (Figures 5 2 and 3) are secured to standards II and [2 in such a position that their portions closest to the paper are farther away from it than the projections l3 and IQ of standards II and I2, making it impossible for the paper to become 10 fouled on these brackets. Brackets l1 and I8 are provided with upper and lower flanges 2| and 22 to hold the ribbon against improper vertical movement.

Figure 1 shows a form of front feed ball 23 16 that is well known in the art. It will be understood that when the operator wishes to insert paper from the front of the platen, this bail is swung forwardly away from the platen about pivots not shown in the drawing. When the 20 bail is in this position the paper can be held in substantially a vertical position as it is lowered into the machine. For further details of the front feed bail structure, reference may be had to United States Patent No. 2,060,954, issued to 25 Oscar J. Sundstrand on November 1'7, 1936.

While the form of mechanism herein shown and described is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that it is not intended to confine the in- 30 vention to the one form of embodiment herein disclosed, for it is susceptible of embodiment in various forms all coming within the scope of the claim which follows.

What is claimed is: 5 In a business machine having an ink ribbon and a platen, a guide for the ribbon including a pair of uprights secured to a stationary part of the machine, the uprights having projections at their upper ends to extend over the ribbon, and o beveled surfaces adjacent the projections to deflect work sheets inserted from in front of the platen, and a pair of brackets secured to the uprights for holding the ribbon against vertical movement, the brackets lying a greater distance 45 from the platen than the adjacent portions of the uprights.

WALTER A. ANDERSON. 

